Question on Firewall - Mageia 3 Beta 2

[Cae]

Wanted to install Mageia into my new family/spared computer and downloaded Mageia 3 Beta 2 and test out in VirtualBox.

Did the installation with the DVD media, selecting KDE desktop.
Noticed that the Firewall is disabled by default. (Cannot attached image http://tinypic.com/r/fdvqex/6}

- Any idea if this is the intended default setting or a "bug" or just because it is in Virtualbox.
- Why would Mageia not want to enable it by default as it would help users (like me) who does not konw how to configure a firewall properly.


Search the wiki and did not manage to find any mention this topic.
- For a home desktop installation, would it be a good idea to enable firewall ?
- Anyone able to share your expertise or a pointer to a good howto for firewall setup in Mageia?

[djennings]

Yes you are correct, Mageia 3 Beta has the firewall turned off by default. I do not know if this is intentional or not, but I always turn the firewall off on my own computers anyway.

In a typical home network you will have a firewall in your router which will do a perfectly good job of protecting you from attack from the internet. The only possible reason for having an additional firewall in your computer is if you fear you will be attacked by another computer on your home network, perhaps because you have an open wifi network, or fear you have zombied Windows machines. In my network I have neither so I disable the firewall.

An enabled firewall often causes problems for new users who cannot understand why samba, ssh or avahi do not work until they realise they have to open the firewall.

If you do decide you want to have a firewall, all you have to do is enable the firewall in the GUI in MageiaControlCentre>Security>Firewall
Tick the boxes to open ports for samba if you want to exchange files with windows computers, nfs if you intend to share files with linux computers using nfs, cups if you want to share printers with other computers, and 'Network Services' if you want computers to discover each other using avahi.

[Cae]

djennings, thanks for the info,

I am also considering of getting Mageia 3 onto my personal laptop which may see more travelling/surfing on public networks.
Any recommendations on the firewall setting ?

[Trikki]

I also have noticed that something is not quite right with the firewall settings in Mageia 3 Beta 2.

It is not a problem for me if the firewall is not on by default, althou I myself would prefer it to be so. And since it has been on by default in M1 & 2 I personally kind of expect it to be on in M3 also.

But anyways that is not the real problem. It seems that the MCC firewall setting tools are not working quite right. I have tested this on the 32-bit KDE Live CD, Live DVD and also after installing to Virtualbox from 32-bit install DVD and more or less the same thing happens every time.

This is what I have experienced:

There are two ways to configure the firewall from MCC, both end up running the same dialog boxes etc, but the results vary:

1. Mageia Control Center -> Security -> Configure system security, permissions and audit -> (Overview tab, Firewall) -> Configure button.
2. Mageia Control Center -> Security -> Set up your personal firewall

The first way seemed to turn the firewall on as usual (I did not allow any services), but as I went back to make some aditional settings again the Everything (no firewall) box was checked! And even more confusing the MSEC: System Security and Audit Overview tab said that "Firewall Enabled, with 81 rules" but the MSEC Periodic Check report (Daily) said that "Total of configured firewall rules: 101" (this actually seem to be so also in Mageia 2?). Quite strange...

Well after this I decided to try the same thing with Set up your personal firewall option. And again everything seemed to work as usual (again I didn't allow any services), bur this time the MSEC: System Security and Audit Overview tab said that Firewall Enabled, with 3 rules!

Has nobody else experiensed this? Am I really the only one? If anybody would care to try going thru the same steps to see if it does the same thing for them?

I have never filed a bug report before, but if this is not fixed in the Beta 3 version I guess I have to learn how to...

[macxi]

I installed Mageia 3 beta 2 and I tried to enable firewall native of Mageia, but there is an error in the CCM Mageia Firewall, which is disabled by default, with the option "Everything (no firewall)" selected. I removed the selection to close all doors and give ok. When I return in the Firewall configuration, "Everything (no firewall)" is selected again, with all ports open by default. Today, after I update all packages available for Mageia 3 beta 3, the error continues.



Note: When I tried to run the Firestarter (firewall), also appears an error

[macxi]

I installed Mageia 3 beta 2 and I tried to enable firewall native of Mageia, but there is an error in the CCM Mageia Firewall, which is disabled by default, with the option "Everything (no firewall)" selected. I removed the selection to close all doors and give ok. When I return in the Firewall configuration, "Everything (no firewall)" is selected again, with all ports open by default. Today, after I update all packages available for Mageia 3 beta 3, the error continues.
Note: When I tried to run the Firestarter (firewall), also appears an error

Hi,
Today I checked the firewall with the latest updates from Mageia 3 beta 3, the native firewall of Mageia is already functioning as before, allowing leave close all doors, after I set to deselect the option "Everything (no firewall)".

Note: Is unstable, after I configure the firewall to close, I restarted the mageia 3 and found that the firewall was turned off again, ie, with the doors open as before. I'll check better.

[leuhmanu]

if you have some info: https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=9329

[macxi]

if you have some info: https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=9329

Thank you